Cigarette machine



E. KOERNER CIGARETTE MACHINE Filed Dec.

Aug 1929.

. INENTOR ATTORNEY Still Patented Aug. 6, 1929. p

, UNITED STATES y 1,723,942 PATENT- OFFICE.

EWALD KOERNER, OF DRESDEN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO TJ'ZN'I E'JIIJD CIGARETTE MA- CHINE CO. INC., 0]? LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, A CORPORATION 01 VIRGINIA.

' CIGARETTE uncnmn.

Application and December 7, 1927, Serial No. 238,281, and in Japan April 26, 19cc.

present invention is The object of a the guiding the belts of to provide means for cigarette machines in such belt is relieved of strains which are inevltable under belt handling devices now employed. I I

The invention will be described with refr' .crence to the accompanying drawlng m which Figure l illustrates, in longitudinal seo tional elevation, belt guiding means con structed in accordance with the invention;

Figure Wis a plan view of the embodiment illustrated in Figure l, and partly in section;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on toe line b--8, Figure 2;

Figures l, 5 and 6 are respectively transverse sections on the lines trlh as and ib-d Figure l;

Figure l is a sectional elevation thrqugh the base oil a discharge chute tor tobacco and through the belt trough and Figure 8 is a perspective view oil a belt trough constructed in accordance with the invention.

in cigarette machines it is common to form a tobacco rod by means oi suitable rolls acting upon tobacco which is "led upon a moving tape running in a guide groove. Since the tape or belt must be endless it is necessary to spread it out list as it comes a a tutu dil out oil the ll-termed. groove llhis ilattening of the belt causes some severe dildculties tor there is the danger oil loldingand causing a great strain on the single strands oil the belt. ln order overcome, these dilliculties it has been proposed to have the band slide over a tapered cartoon, but the end all the tapered conven curved surlace must be supplied with rollers or the lilre which on their part have the disadvantage that the belt is greatly strained in the middle con seauently tears occur which influence the even running, and luring oil lolds and also cause greatwear on the belts. Also it is didicult, when conical or curved guide plates are used, to control the lurther movement oil the tobacco rod. The body used for this purpose is very hard to malre on account all its peculiar shape and also is very apt to damage the belt, the resent inventionv will avoid this diculty in that it eliminates guiding plates and insures the lib natural out-how of the belt, i. e. such an manner that the along its entire length which is opening up of the belt in that each phase of the belt over its entire Width at any given moment has a given tension and also the groove which might be caused by certain irregularities in the belt itself. These guides hold the band towards the outside in its natural path and on their inner sides have surlaces suitably shaped tor the lac ther transfer at the tobacco rod.

'lhe tobacco passes lrom chute ll onto a belt, indicated at l Figure 1 which is guided by the walls oil a guide channel. Q1? illustrated more articularly in Figures l and t 'llhe ui'e channel lying immediately under it e chute d has customarily been all wood or the hire in which the groove was cut. lt appears now that thebest results are obtained when the cross section the channel lor its lull length is an enact hall circle with ends vertically tangent that is one object oil this invention. ln order produce an accurately made chan nel member oil this hind more caniily this invention provides that the channel main her he no longer made lrom a solid piece oi? material but termed lroni sheet metal which can be drawn or rolled into an accurate taper in a simple manner. The sheet metal channel member at can then be tcrewed to a support ll. The cross section ol the metal chan nel member a is termed to a hall circle continued straight up in two parallel tangents. 'lhe semicircular part terms in its anial direction on accurate halt ot a hollow cone. 'llhe sheet metal can best be termed in this man nor; an accurate tapered rod is made by turning or grinding and around this the sheet of suitable material is drawn or rolled. The outer ends at the piece are bent out to form flanges and tastened to support 3 by screws The belt passes from the receiving guide channel to a belt channel member 4, above till lull

lllti lll') which rotates the usual forming roller 5, which has a semi-circular groove around its circumference. The formed tobacco rod 6 is carried along further and onto the strip of paper 7 which is led over roller 8. The so-called forming belt 9 led over roller 10 receives the paper strip with the rod and carries the two along to completion by the forming and pasting devices customaril employed in cigarette machines and whic are not shown, inasmuch as they form no part of the present invention.

.The forming belt 1 is led over a belt receiving roller 12, the top of which lies, as shown in Figure 1, higher than the bottom of the channel in member 4, for a purpose hereinafter explained. As the belt leaves the belt channel memher 4 it enters a spreader comprising a wedge-shaped member 13 having spaced parallel inner walls equivalent to the thickness of the rod, and serving to guide the same. Wedge-shaped spreader 13 gradually spreads the belt toward normal position, the action being illustrated progressively b Figures 3 to 6 respectively. Wedge-shaped spreader 13 is carried by guide pieces 14, 14* attached to side plates 15 which are secured to channel member 4 by means of screws 17 17 In order that the members 15 may be swung upwardly, the receiving holes in members 15 for the screws 1! may be slots, as indicated at 16, Figure 1. The wedge-shaped spreader 13 holds the belt during its passage from member 4 against bending inward, a bending which happens particularly with belts which have run a long time. As the rod leaves the wedge-shaped spreader 13 it passes upon roller 12 over which belt 1 is led.

The amount that the upper part of roller 12 is elevated above the bottom of the chan nel is regulated according to the breadth, the thickness, and material of the belt. As this can only be determined through experiment, it is therefore desirable to mount the roller adjustably in a vertical direction, although this is not absolutely necessary, since on cigarette machines of a certain kind the belts are made always the same width and thickness and of the same material.

The amount of the elevation is shown in Figure 1 by the dotted line and arrows 18..

The ci arette rod passes from roller 12 to a britfge 19. The guiding sides of the bridge can be made in two simple strips .partly cut at one end so as to extend practically to a point meeting a vertical line extending through the axis of the roller 12, the strip lying above the roller as shown in Figure 1, wherein only one strip is illustrated, the horizontal connecting member 19 for the strips bein shown in section. The bridge is a usual e ement in rod feeds and does not require detailed description.

The drawing shows the invention in combination with the so-called cigarette rod, but it can however naturally be used in combination with machines of other kinds, for example shell filling machines or the like or in any cigarette machine in which a rod or otherwise round body is formed by means of a continuously running belt having a U- form and which passes from the U-form into the flat form.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows 1. In cigarette machines, spreading means for a rod-carrying belt employed in connection with a belt guiding member with a U- shaped cross section, comprisin a roller upon which the belt is received, t e periphery of the roller lying higher than the bottom of the channel in the belt guiding member, and a wedge-shaped member intermediate the guide member and the roller for engaging the upper surface of the belt.

2. In cigarette machines, spreading means for the rod carrying belt constructed in accordance with claim 1, and the wedgeshaped member comprising two separate sections, each section having an inner wall parallel with the inner wall of the other section and an oblique outer wall, said outer walls being rounded toward their lowermost surfaces and means for suspending said wedge member.

- In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EWALD KOERNER. 

